Infrared Camera Conversion Service: The Complete Provider Overview

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of companies offering some form of infrared camera conversion service. It will not tell you who offers the “best” infrared camera conversion service, but rather inform you about your choices.

Originally part of the Infrared Photography Tutorial, I decided to dedicate a separate article to this topic as the list of companies grew longer. As an additional benefit, I have now included additional information for each of the companies.

Why a global infrared camera conversion service listing?

There are actually three reasons why I decided to publish this listing:

You might simply not be aware of some of the companies listed, or the type of service they offer

“The world is a village” – sending cameras around the globe is easy these days (just make sure you follow the recommendations at the bottom of this article)

I am not aware of an existing comparable list. There are some for just the US, but I have not found anything covering the entire globe.

Instead of just listing links to the companies, I tried to add information about the type of services they offer. For example, which camera brands they can modify and how long a conversion might take. On purpose, I have not included pricing information.

In an effort to verify and complete the information available on the websites of each of the service providers, I reached out to all them using their published email addresses. I made them aware of this page and asked them to verify the information and eventually add whatever they felt was useful for a potential customer. Where applicable, I have added a commend describing the feedback.

Where possible, the ultrasonic cleaning system is preserved Correct manual and auto focus to match a focal length of choice, pre-set custom White balance Maintain Nikon and Leica manufactures warranty Mask internal IR light to reduce flare from IR shutter sensor during long exposure. A class clean air work booth Other conversions offered: flash to IR, video / focus assist light to IR and UV flash

September 26, 2017: After a reminder, Camera Clinic responded within a few hours. Their response was polite, very detailed and did address all my questions. I have updated the sections above with the information they provided.

Purchase of already converted cameras is possible upon request. Dust-removal system of the camera is protected whenever possible. Customers from EU and Switzerland only.

November 28, 2017: IRreCams responded within a few hours of my inquiry. Their response was polite and did address all my questions. I have updated the sections above with the information they provided.

Clean air environment Hires out IR and UV converted digital SLRs with associated flash systems – prices on application IR lights and also modifications to flashguns for both UV and IR

September 26, 2017: After a reminder, Advanced Camera Services (ACS) responded within a few hours. Their response was formal and did address all my questions. I have updated the sections above with the information they provided.

November 27, 2017: Alan Burch replied within less than an hour of my inquiry. His response was polite and did address all my questions. I have updated the sections above with the information he provided.

Conversions for many other uses including Forensic, Specialist Scientific uses, Film-making as well as for drone cameras both in the UK and abroad Sells already converted cameras, both new and secondhand

October 4, 2017: Protech Photographic replied within a few hours of my inquiry. Their response was cordial and did address all my questions. I have updated the sections above with the information they provided.

September 19, 2017: Kolari Vision responded within a few hours of my inquiry. Their response was polite, very detailed and did address all my questions. I have updated the sections above with the information they provided.

Usually 5 to 10 business days, 1-2 business days rush processing available

Warranty on modification:

1 year warranty on all camera conversion services

Other comments:

Free live one-on-one training session with every conversion Complimentary 8×12″ print from Digital Silver with every conversion Sells already converted cameras, both new and used Offers DIY IR Filters and provide IR conversion tutorials Offers infrared workshops all around the US Class 5 clean air environment

September 19, 2017: Life Pixel responded within a few hours of my inquiry. Their response was polite, detailed and did address all my questions. I have updated the sections above with the information they provided.

September 19, 2017: MaxMax.com responded within less than an hour to my inquiry. Their response was formal, very detailed and did address all my questions. I have updated the sections above with the information they provided.

Cleanroom filter installation Sells pre-modified cameras to your specifications, new and used models available Sells On-Lens IR Filters Added sensor heat reduction system installation available (reduces image noise for Astrophotography) Reinstallation of sensor dust cleaning system available for most models Custom Filter orders upon request

September 28, 2017: After a reminder, Spencer’s Camera & Photo replied within 3 business days. Their response was formal, detailed and did address all my questions. I have updated the sections above with the information they provided.

What do I need to pay attention to?

There are a couple of things I would recommend paying attention to, when it comes to IR camera conversions:

Be aware that converting your camera will usually void the manufacturer warranty, unless noted otherwise. For this reason, it is usually best to use an older model which is no longer under warranty. The exceptions to this rule are Camera Clinic in Australia (maintaining the warranty of Nikon and Leica cameras) and Optic Macario in Germany (maintaining the warranty of Nikon cameras).

Filter material: The replacement filter should be made out of high quality optical glass, not plastic material. It makes a difference optically and when you need to clean your sensor at some point (plastic scratches more easily).

Conversion type: Make sure you understand the differences between the various filter options. In my Infrared Photography Tutorial, you will find some helpful comments for each of the filter options.

Which company should I choose?

Please note that I have no affiliation with any of the companies above. But I do have experience with conversions done by Advanced Camera Services, Life Pixel and Spencer’s Camera & Photo. Advanced Camera Services did convert for me a Nikon D50 in 2009. Life Pixel did convert for me a Nikon D3200 in 2013 and an Olympus OM-D E-M5 in 2014. Spencer’s Camera & Photo did convert for me an Olympus OM-D E-M1 in 2016. I was happy with the conversions done by either company.

What probably makes sense for you is to choose a company close to you or at least within your economic area. For example: if you live in Europe, you should probably choose a company located within the EU. Otherwise you have to be careful when sending your camera abroad.

In 2013, I sent my Nikon D3200 (which I bought in Austria) for conversion to Life Pixel in the US. Everything went smooth, until they shipped the converted camera back to me. At this point, the Austrian tax authorities wanted to charge me import tax and VAT (again) for my own camera. It took me days of phone calls, discussions and sending documents to authorities to get my camera back. Now I understand that you need to formally register your camera before you send it abroad, to avoid what happened to me.

Be aware of black sheep

Especially from companies in the US, I did receive a surprising amount of information about low quality conversions done by competitors – including, but not limited to:

Using paper shims instead of metal shims to adjust the sensor position

Filters being glued or taped to the sensor

Using low quality glass or plastic

Dust between the filter and the sensor

If you look at the websites of the companies above, some of them offer example pictures of low quality conversions on their websites. But how can you as a customer assess the reputation of your chosen provider? Here are my recommendations:

We do list two Euro conversion services in one of our Stickies, but my list is certainly not as extensive as yours. So I’m *very* happy to find out about your website from one of my members. I will add a reference to it on our site, UltravioletPhotography.com. (For the record, most of my members also make IR photos. Our website name should perhaps contain UV/Vis/IR/Etc. )

A topic which should be addressed somewhere on the web pages of any conversion service is the presence of the IR shutter monitors in some Nikon and Sony camera bodies. Any full spectrum or UV conversion of such a body will produce photographs contamined by the IR-LED shutter monitor light. I have personally also seen contamination in IR photographs made with such a body although, of course, it is somewhat less noticeable. So do please make sure that your conversion services all know about this problem and mention it somewhere on their web pages.

I see that one of your conversion services offers to “mask” the offending IR-LED. It is my understanding that masking the light would cause a shutter failure message of some kind, but I have no proof of that. We know of one successful replacement of an IR-LED shutter monitor light by an individual, but so far do not know of any conversion service which offers that. Perhaps you could talk further with the converter and get more details about IR-LED masking?

I have personally received good conversions from three of the US suppliers: Life Pixel, Kolari and MaxMax and these three US converters are all aware of the IR shutter monitor problem. I have forum members who have received good conversions from Advanced Camera Services and from Optik Makario. (Readers may pretend that OM’s name is capitalized. Too much trouble to type.)

Our primary quibble with Optik Makario is that they do not provide transmission charts for the internal replacement filters they offer. This makes no sense because who would want to convert a camera without knowing what transmission interval they might expect to record? So do be sure to check whether your listed converters freely make transmission charts available.

Also the Optik Makario comment on your listing states that for Nikon models, the warranty will remain intact. How can that possibly be true when the camera has been opened up and the internal filtration replaced? I am skeptical.

I personally had a bad experience with Spencer’s in the US a few years ago. They used a plastic filter for a full spectrum D700 conversion and apparently did not test it. The D700 had an IR-LED shutter monitor and produced contaminated photos in UV, Visible and IR work. One can only hope that Spencer’s has since learned to make better conversions.

My members have had mixed results with various Ebay conversion services due to dust trapped under the new filter or by the use of inferior Chinese ZBW or QB filtration. Let the buyer beware! I will not currently list any Ebay only converters.

I hope that the preceding comments will be helpful to you. Keep up the good work on this very useful list of converters!

Hello Andrea, thank you very much for the comment on the IR LED issue affecting some Nikon and Sony cameras. I have read about it previously, but will include it specifically in my next round of updates with the suppliers.

Your comments regarding the various conversion providers are extremely valuable. The collective experiences of your forum members do help a lot, for sure. Fully agree with your comment on eBay conversions, I am not planning to endorse those, either. Optic Makario explicitly states on their homepage that warranty remains intact only for Nikon cameras, but no other brands. Since this is mentioned multiple times, they might have an agreement with Nikon on how the conversion is carried out. They do offer transmission charts here: http://www.optic-makario.de/transmissionskurven/. Looking at the cutoff frequencies, I am under the impression that they use the same material for their filters and their camera conversions.

I did look at your forum structure – in which of the forums can I expect to find feedback on conversions? Is it the “UV/IR Techniques, Tests & Gear Talk” forum? I would be happy to update my article with an appropriate link. Btw I would like to thank you for the post where you link to my website, this is very much appreciated!

FYI I know your forum since I started diving into IR photography – I have read especially the Nikon lens IR reviews numerous times, but also the comments on the various filters. It was very useful to me. Bjørn’s website – especially his Nikon lens reviews – I know since my early Nikon days. I can probably cite some of his reviews by heart 😀

Thanks to both of you for what you have done for and shared with the community. I will use your comments to update this page once I get new information from the service providers.

I have used KolariVision in the States several times. Their service is impeccable, with same day replies to any queries. I also fell foul of re-importing my camera the first time I used them. After a few days of emails and a phone call or two where I needed to convince them it was always my camera, I eventually got UK customs to release my camera to me. Since then, KolariVision set up some sort of European depot whereby my subsequent conversions somehow came to me from Europe. I am not sure if they still do that. I have emailed them today on the matter as I am sending another one to them this week.

My plan is to send my dslr to US for conversion. You’ve mentioned “formal registration” of camera before doing so, just to avoid tax issues. What kind of registration do you mean? At camera manufcturer’s site or custom office? Best regards, Piotr

What I meant was registration with your local customs office, so they can recognize the camera once it is sent back to you. Also, when you complete the declaration form for your shipping company, you should mention that this is a temporary export, for modification purposes only. But they will likely mention this as part of their shipping instructions. Hope that helps.

Thank you Pekka for the comment! Glad to hear about your good experience. I will get in contact with the company and see what they would like to share, they seem to focus on mirrorless camera conversions. The other three links are certainly useful references for people interested in astro-photography conversions.